


Where Your Loyalties Lie

by Sand_wolf579



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: Character Death, Dark Cavendish, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Isolation, Psychological Torture, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24498877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sand_wolf579/pseuds/Sand_wolf579
Summary: Cavendish had dedicated his life to saving the world, but when he's forced to choose between his lifework and Dakota, he had to decide just where his loyalties lie.
Relationships: Balthazar Cavendish & Vinnie Dakota
Comments: 7
Kudos: 49





	Where Your Loyalties Lie

Cavendish huffed irritably as he paced around his cell. One week. He'd been in this blasted cell for seven days, and he still didn't understand why. Oh, sure, he'd been told dozens of times by all kinds of agents, interrogators, even Mr. Block himself, the time crime that had been committed that had landed him here, but he didn't know why he was being punished. Cavendish was completely innocent. As he'd told the others, he had nothing to do with this mess. He was nothing more than an unwilling and unknowing witness...or motivation, depending on who you ask.

Cavendish wondered if he could be accused of being an accomplice when he'd had no idea what his partner was doing.

This whole thing was Dakota's fault...or, at least, it was because of him. Cavendish was still on the fence about if Dakota had done anything wrong at all. He had undeniably committed numerous time laws and broken company rules, but he'd saved Cavendish's life. Dozens, hundreds of times, Dakota had sacrificed himself for his sake. It hadn't been allowed, but he'd done it anyways. It was just like Dakota, to put his own personal desires above the rules of their company. Cavendish felt he should be furious, and a part of him really was, but an even larger part of him wondered how he could possibly blame Dakota for this. Dakota had saved his life. Was that really something he should be angry about?

Cavendish knew that nothing about this could have been expected, but he still felt like he should have seen it coming. At the very least, he should have known that Mr. Block wouldn't have just been angry at them for this. He should have known they wouldn't just be given a simple slap on the wrist and a small demotion. They hadn't failed their assignment this time, they, or at least, Dakota, had broken the single most important rule of time travel: Don't interfere with your own timeline.

Cavendish froze in his pacing when he heard the cell door open. He stepped back and instinctively stood at attention when Mr. Block entered. His boss looked more serious than Cavendish had ever seen him, and Mr. Block was, by nature, a serious person.

"Cavendish," Mr. Block closed the cell door behind him.

Cavendish stiffened. Mr. Block never called him by his actual name. Cavendish had been desperate for his boss to call him by his name, as it would have been a sign that he respected him, but at this moment it filled him only with dread. Something was wrong.

"Sir, I swear, I had no knowledge of any of this," Cavendish said desperately.

"Stop your babbling," Mr. Block waved away his pleas. "I know you weren't involved."

Cavendish blinked. "You...you do?" He'd been saying as much since he'd been thrown in here, but nobody had listened to a word he had said. What had changed. "W-well, if you know that I had nothing to do with...I mean, that I didn't know what was happening, can I go free?"

"You're not a prisoner," Mr. Block said, like Cavendish was a fool for thinking otherwise, even though he was still kept in a cell. "We needed to keep you here until we knew everything, and now we do." Everything. Cavendish didn't even know everything about this situation, the only person that did was Dakota. Mr. Block must have gotten the information from him, but Cavendish couldn't help but wonder what they'd done to Dakota to learn such a thing.

Not for the first time, Cavendish wondered just what state Dakota had been in during this past week. Cavendish's conditions had been far from good, but even with all the personal questions, isolation, and boredom, he hadn't been harmed. Dakota had actually been responsible for what they were being imprisoned for. He must have been exposed to much worse than what Cavendish had experienced. The worst part was that Cavendish had no idea what Dakota was going through. Everybody refused to tell him even the smallest thing.

"I'm here to talk about your job," Mr. Block said before Cavendish could ask about Dakota.

"My job?" Cavendish frowned. He'd been expecting to be fired, at the very least.

"Don't be expecting a promotion," Mr. Block warned. "But yes, your job." Mr. Block handed him a B.o.T.T. time agent card. It was too new to have been Cavendish's original card, so Mr. Block had gone out of his way to make a new card for him. "I'm assuming you still want to work here,"

"Yes, yes, of course," Cavendish said quickly. Being a time traveler had been all he'd ever wanted. "But...is that really all? Imprisoned for a week and then everything goes back to normal?"

"Well, not exactly normal," Mr. Block said stiffly. "You'll be on parole for awhile, just in case. And, of course, you'll be assigned a new partner,"

Cavendish flinched. "Uh, sir, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what will happen to Dakota?" He knew he should be thinking about his own job, but hearing that he wouldn't be working with Dakota, his old partner was the only person on his mind. There was no way that Dakota would be let off as easily as Cavendish was.

Mr. Block looked at Cavendish with an unreadable expression. "Come with me, Cavendish," Mr. Block said, once again using his proper name. Mr. Block opened the cell door and walked out. He gestured for Cavendish to follow him out, which he did somewhat cautiously. After being in the cell for a week, Cavendish felt a little uncertain about being out and among others.

"There is one condition to getting your job back," Mr. Block said as they walked out of the imprisonment area. They passed just a few agents as they went, and Cavendish had a difficult time ignoring all of the judgemental and angry looks shot his way. Worse than that though was that a few of the agents looked at him in pity. He didn't want anybody, especially not strangers, to pity him. Especially when he didn't even understand why.

"Dakota clearly had a lot of loyalty to you," Mr. Block glanced at Cavendish, trying to read his expression. "We need to be sure that your loyalties lie with this company."

Cavendish stiffened. It sounded like he was going to be tested, and he didn't think this was a test that he could afford to fail. "I won't disappoint you, sir," Cavendish promised.

Mr. Block smirked ever so slightly. "We shall see," Cavendish wished that his boss would have a little more confidence in him.

They continued through the B.o.T.T. headquarters, with Cavendish getting increasingly more nervous as they went. He had no idea what to expect from this. He didn't even know where they were going. Cavendish's nervousness grew to anxiety when Mr. Block led him to the parts of headquarters that only top agents were allowed to go. Even Brick and Savannah didn't have the clearance to come up here. What in the world was the reason for Mr. Block leading him here?

Mr. Block brought Cavendish down the empty halls until they reached a door that was guarded by two stern, intimidating looking agents. Mr. Block moved to the door and began to enter a code into a pin pad that was on the door. He put in nearly a dozen numbers before the pin pad clicked in confirmation. The door slowly creaked open. Mr. Block walked through, and Cavendish followed him nervously. The door closed behind them.

Cavendish froze when he saw just where they were. He had never been in this part of B.o.T.T. headquarters before, but he immediately knew where he was. All agents knew about the Condemned Corridor. While B.o.T.T. had cells like the one that Cavendish had been kept in, those were only for simple crimes and temporary imprisonment. For true time crimes and most dangerous prisoners, there was the Condemned Corridor.

The prisoners in the Condemned Corridor cells were said to be kept in total isolation, kept away from even their guards. The cells were kept out of time, so while just a few minutes or days might pass at headquarters, in the cells themselves just a few seconds might have passed, or an entire lifetime.

Cavendish had felt sick to his stomach when he'd first read about the Condemned Corridor. He'd vowed to do everything in his power to never come here, even for a visit. Cavendish's every instinct told him to turn back and run, but he couldn't do that. He had a horrible suspicion why Mr. Block had brought him here.

They stopped in front of one of the cells, which Mr. Block opened by just putting his hand on the door. Cavendish swallowed thickly and entered the cell behind his boss. Though he'd been expecting it, he froze in horror when he saw just who was being kept in the cell.

"Dakota," Cavendish said breathlessly.

Dakota was curled up in the corner of the brightly lit cell. His legs were drawn up to his chest and his arms were wrapped tightly around it. Dakota wasn't wearing his jacket in the traditional way, and he'd instead put it over his head, covering his face, which was buried in his knees. Dakota didn't look injured, but Cavendish doubted that anybody, even Dakota, could walk out of this cell unharmed.

Cavendish slowly approached Dakota. He expected Mr. Block to stop him, but the man didn't say a word. Cavendish knelt on the ground in front of his partner. "Dakota, are you alright?" He put a hand on Dakota's leg. Dakota made a choked pained sound as he quickly scrambled away from Cavendish.

"No, no, no!" Dakota muttered. His jacket fell off, but Dakota kept his head lowered and his face hidden. "Not s'possed t'be here," Dakota's voice slurred as though he was half asleep or drunk.

Cavendish looked at Mr. Block in alarm. "What have you done to him?"

"No less than he deserved," Mr. Block said coldly. "You know he broke the rules."

"Rules, rules," Dakota let out a broken giggle, which soon turned into a choked sob. Dakota brought his hands to his face, his palms tight against his eyes and his fingers pulling at his hair. "Don't like the rules,"

Cavendish frowned. Everything about this situation was much worse than he had imagined, and he had the horrible feeling that it was only going to get worse. Cavendish picked up Dakota's jacket and carefully draped it over his shoulders. Dakota suddenly snatched Cavendish's hand and clutched at it tightly. Cavendish sat perfectly still as Dakota slowly lifted his head and looked at him.

Cavendish thought he felt his heart break when he saw Dakota's eyes. Not because Dakota wasn't wearing his signature sunglasses, which had to be extremely painful, as Dakota's photosensitivity made even dim lights painful for him to look at, and this cell was so brightly lit that it was giving Cavendish a headache. No, Cavendish was much more concerned about the tears he saw in Dakota's eyes. As long as they'd known each other, Cavendish didn't think he had ever seen Dakota cry, not even when Dakota had told him about the Isle of Lost Dakotas, and the number of times he'd seen Cavendish die.

"Cav," Dakota's voice cracked with emotion at just that one simple word. "You're...you're okay?" Cavendish could feel Dakota's hand shaking. "I thought they killed you,"

Cavendish looked at Dakota in shock. "Killed me? Why in the world would they…" He trailed off when he realized that the whole reason Dakota was in here was because he'd gone back in time to save Cavendish's life. Cavendish was technically not supposed to be alive, so it was a very real concern to think that the B.o.T.T. would try to rectify that.

"But you're okay," Dakota grinned weakly and leaned his head against Cavendish's shoulder. "Tha's good,"

"Are you alright though?" Cavendish asked, though he realized that was a foolish question. Dakota had been stuck in this cell for who knew how long. "I mean, are you hurt?"

My head," Dakota said quietly. Cavendish grimaced sympathetically. Of course the light was making his head hurt. "They went in it." Cavendish frowned in confusion, not understanding what Dakota was talking about. It took him a long moment, but he thought of a chilling possibility.

B.o.T.T. had many interrogation methods, but the most infamous one essentially involved forcing one to be exposed to all of their memories all out once, which could be extremely overwhelming and maddening in and of itself. Those feelings often intensified when someone else went into those memories as well. It was a completely barbaric and cruel practice that many other companies in the future were trying to get outlawed. To think that Dakota had been exposed to such a thing, it was horrifying.

"It was the only way to get the information we needed," Mr. Block said, sounding not at all apologetic.

"It was unnecessary, I'm sure," Cavendish put his arm protectively over Dakota's shoulder. "I answered any question you asked, and I'm sure Dakota did as well,"

"We needed to learn his motivation," Mr. Block said. Cavendish wished he understood what the look in Mr. Block's eyes meant.

Cavendish stilled when he realized that he actually didn't know Dakota's motivation himself. Dakota had sacrificed so much, and even now he was clearly so worried about Cavendish's wellbeing, but why? What had Cavendish done to deserve this kind of loyalty and dedication from Dakota?

Cavendish was curious, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. He didn't want to make Dakota think that he was interrogating him like B.o.T.T. had. Dakota's wellbeing had to come before his personal desires at the moment. He had to focus on comforting Dakota and making sure he was okay.

"As touching as this reunion is, we came here for a reason," Mr. Block said impatiently. Dakota pulled away from Cavendish enough for him to look at Mr. Block. Dakota looked at their boss, moved his gaze to Cavendish, and then back to Mr. Block. Dakota was quiet for a moment before he closed his eyes and smiled weakly.

"What are they offering you?" Dakota asked. He sounded more at peace and aware than he had since Cavendish arrived.

Cavendish didn't know what Dakota was talking about, but Mr. Block seemed to understand. "His job."

"Good, tha's good," Dakota looked at Cavendish. "You gonna do it?"

Cavendish frowned. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?" He loved his job.

Dakota nodded and leaned against Cavendish again. "Tha's good," Dakota muttered for the third time. Cavendish didn't know why, but he was really bothered by Dakota saying the same thing over and over again. He wished he understood Dakota's thinking process right now.

Mr. Block raised an eyebrow at Dakota. "You've really got it bad, don't you?"

Dakota leaned closer to Cavendish. "You were in my head. You tell me," Cavendish shuddered at Dakota's tone. It was cold and angry, and yet somehow unemotional. This wasn't the kind of tone that belonged to Dakota, who was always happy, helpful, and wore his heart on his sleeve.

"For once, your misguided loyalty will serve us well," Mr. Block said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like just a simple metal rod, but Cavendish knew that it was actually a deadly weapon. When activated, the rod let out powerful magnetic pulses. If the rod was aimed at someone's head, the magnetic pulse would essentially turn off their brain, killing them in a quick, painless, and efficient way.

Cavendish stood up and stood protectively in front of Dakota. "You're not going to kill him." All of this was going too far. Dakota had broken time travel rules, but he hadn't had any malicious intentions. He didn't deserve to be imprisoned out of time, and he certainly didn't deserve to be executed.

"No, I'm not," Mr. Block held the rod out to Cavendish, a serious look in his eyes. "You are."

For a moment Cavendish felt like he was the one who was hit with the rod's pulses. His veins felt like they'd been turned to ice. "I...no, you can't honestly mean-"

"You have to," Dakota stood up, though he had to hold onto Cavendish to support himself.

"I am not going to just kill you," Cavendish snapped. He looked at Dakota desperately, but his friend, while he looked determined, also looked completely exhausted.

"They'll hurt you if you don't," Dakota said, like it was a good argument, which was ridiculous.

"My job is not worth your life," Cavendish said. It just wasn't a fair trade. Even if Dakota was just a stranger, Cavendish would be reluctant to agree.

"Your happiness is though," Dakota gave him a weak smile.

"You must forgive me for not agreeing," Cavendish scowled. He'd been unhappy his whole life, he was used to it, and he would gladly take a whole lifetime of misery if it meant Dakota wasn't killed for something that didn't deserve this kind of punishment.

"This is the test, Cavendish," Mr. Block frowned at him. "If you don't do this, either someone else will or Dakota will spend the rest of his life in this cell and never see another being again." Cavendish shuddered at the thought. "And if you don't do this, not only will you not get your job back, I will see to it that you never get a proper job again."

"Why are you doing this?" Cavendish asked as he looked at his boss with wide, horrified eyes. He had never seen Mr. Block as a particularly kind man, but he didn't think that the man was capable of such cruelty.

"I told you, you need to prove where your loyalties lie." Mr. Block forced the rod into Cavendish's hands.

"My loyalties," Cavendish looked at it like it was the instrument of his own demise, when in reality it was the tool of Dakota's demise. Cavendish almost wished that he was back in his own cell, oblivious to Dakota's situation. He couldn't truly hope for that, because that would mean wishing that Dakota went back into isolation, and he would never wish for such a thing.

Cavendish looked at Dakota, who didn't even look scared. He'd completely accepted his fate, which made this situation harder for Cavendish to accept. Dakota had given up so much for Cavendish, and now he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, and he was asking Cavendish to repay that favor by killing him with his own hands. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't right.

Cavendish closed his eyes and steeled himself. His stomach was tying itself into knots, but he knew what he had to do. There really was no other choice.

Cavendish adjusted his grip on the rod. He opened his eyes and looked at Mr. Block coldly. "You're right," Cavendish said. Mr. Block smirked in satisfaction, but his expression immediately fell when Cavendish lifted the rod and aimed it at his head. Before either Mr. Block or Dakota could even know what Cavendish was doing, he activated the rod. Mr. Block was dead before he even hit the floor. "It's time I show where my loyalties lie."

Dakota looked at Mr. Block's body in horror. "Cav, you...you...they're going to kill you,"

"Nobody's going to kill either of us," Cavendish said sternly. He grabbed Dakota's arm and pulled him out of the room. It was time for the two of them to get out of here. Cavendish knew that the other agents weren't going to let them leave without a fight, but he didn't care. Dakota hadn't given up on Cavendish, and he wasn't going to give up on Dakota either. As far as Cavendish was concerned, this was the very least he could do.

B.o.T.T. had hurt Dakota so much, and Cavendish swore that he would make them pay. B.o.T.T. had way too much power, and they frequently abused it. This was just taking things a step too far, and Cavendish wasn't going to tolerate it anymore. One day, Cavendish would make sure that everybody here paid for the crimes committed against Dakota, but that had to wait. For now, Cavendish's top priority was to get Dakota out of here. Once Dakota was safe, Cavendish would return and set things right.

Nobody was going to lay a hand on Dakota, not if Cavendish had anything to do about it.

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this one-shot on my mind for a long time. It started off when I was wondering just what Cavendish and Dakota would look like in the 2nd dimension. I thought that if Cavendish is normally so dedicated to time travel and being a hero, than his 2nd dimension self would be obsessed with taking them down. I imagine him being a little like Doofenshmirtz' 2nd dimension self, except only concerned about time travelers. As for cheerful Dakota, I imagine him kinda isolated and withdrawn. This one-shot is basically looking at how those two would end up that way.
> 
> Maybe later I'll write a longer story about the original Cavendish and Dakota meeting their 2nd dimension selves. I've only just finished writing a long Milo Murphy's Law story though, and I need a bit of a break from it, so for now it's just this one-shot.


End file.
